Photo: Generic1139 · CC BY-SA 3.0Peters Township’s library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries its size
Peters Township Public Library serves Peters Township’s 22,946 residents. Last year it lent 298K books, movies and e-books and logged 120K visits.
Peters Township’s library, in brief
More than half the print loans are for kids
Children’s books and media are 56% of print loans, and kids’ borrowing per resident is higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. That works out to about 24 items per child in Peters Township last year. Kids & programs ↓
Peters Township is a town of borrowers
Peters Township Public Library lends 11 print items per resident, against a typical 3.9 for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people, more than 93% of similar-size libraries. Each item on the shelves went out about 2.6 times last year. What people borrow ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
What’s behind Peters Township’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Peters Township is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #227 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. Library visits hold the grade up; the share of younger adults in volunteering groups pulls it down.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
90 community nonprofits are registered in Peters Township
3.9 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (10 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town. 2 more name a national or statewide reach and are left out.
7.1%
7.1% of Peters Township’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.0% in the typical Pennsylvania town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Peters Township’s residents live; 2022.
About 8 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Peters Township last year.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people across the U.S.
Peters Township Public Library serves 22,946 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000.
Every hour the doors are open, about 102 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
298K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 98K books and other items on the shelves went out about 2.6 times last year, on average.
42,036 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Find it
Peters Township Public Library, 616 East Mcmurray Rd, Mcmurray.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Peters Township? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $3.84 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Peters Township cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $43. Operating budget $1.2M.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $4.6M worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $1.2M budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 10,641 cardholders ÷ 12.
Libraries next door
Peters Township ranks 2nd of 3 for borrowing per resident. Tap a town to see its library.
| Town | Library | Loans per resident | Hours | Civic life |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upper St. Clair Township | Upper St. Clair Township Library | 17.1 | 52 | B |
| Peters Township | Peters Township Public Library fine-free | 13.0 | 56 | B |
| Bethel Park | Bethel Park Public Library fine-free | 9.9 | 57 | C |
| Cecil Township | None of its own | — | — | C |
| North Strabane Township | None of its own | — | — | C+ |
| Nottingham Township | None of its own | — | — | C− |
| Lawrence | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Thompsonville | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
| Union Township | None of its own | — | — | D |
| Gastonville | None of its own | — | — | — graded as part of its town |
Loans = print + digital items borrowed in the library’s fiscal year, per person it serves. — = no library of its own, a county or regional system (its numbers cover many towns), or no report. Civic life: — = not graded (unincorporated places, whose nonprofits can’t be placed by mailing address, or towns with fewer than two of the three inputs).
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Peters Township
Does Peters Township have a public library?
Yes. Peters Township Public Library, 616 East Mcmurray Rd, serves Peters Township’s 22,946 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 56 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Peters Township Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Peters Township’s library?
It logged 5.2 visits and lent 13.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.1 visits for libraries serving 10,000 to 25,000 people.
What is Peters Township’s civic life grade?
B Peters Township is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on civic life, #227 of 1,029 in Pennsylvania. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Peters Township.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.